Anyone brave enough to plant their own vineyard in the middle of rural Derbyshire gets a nod of respect from Great Food Club. That’s exactly what Barry Lewis and his co-founders did in early 2011, when they toiled to dig vines into a gentle south-west facing slope in the Amber Valley. The fruits of this labour have now arrived.
“English wine is on the rise and we wanted to follow our dream of making wine here in Derbyshire,” says Barry.
Today Amber Valley vineyard is slowly maturing. Grape varieties growing at Amber Valley Wines include Seyval Blanc, Phoenix and Solaris. “People think ‘how can you grow grapes in Derbyshire’?” says Barry. “But it’s all about choosing the right varieties – we grow hybrid grapes, designed specially for our climate.”
The dream is to establish a geographic identity for Derbyshire wine and encourage further grape growing in their home county. We get our inspiration from the likes of Three Choirs Vineyard in Gloucestershire and the Bolney Estate in Sussex,” says Barry.
With its Adopt-A-Vine scheme and vineyard tours, Amber Valley Wines want as many people who share their passion as possible to join them, and enjoy the journey of making Derbyshire wine.
